What are we getting worked up about?

It's hard to separate politics from ideology. When I look at something like the new Crime Bill, my instinct is to dislike it based on its source. I know very little of the justification for each proposed change. But I know that it is completely unnecessary because it's coming from a government that uses fear to control its people. In spite of the fact that crime rates are dropping, the Conservatives want to lock away Canadians. They want to appease their baby boomer voting base by showing that they are tough on crime. See, there I go, spewing my own dogma.

I almost wish that I could view political change without knowing what party was behind it. I tried reading the Crime Bill even and it just confused me. It's pretty sad that I have such a poor knowledge of the law in the first place. Here's an example of one of the proposed amendments: "This enactment amends the Criminal Code to eliminate the reference, in section 742.1, to serious personal injury offences and to restrict the availability of conditional sentences for all offences for which the maximum term of imprisonment is 14 years or life and for specified offences, prosecuted by way of indictment, for which the maximum term of imprisonment is 10 years. " Huh? Give me an example of a serious personal injury offense. Is this a good thing? Do we need to be tougher on youth? Who's getting away with what? I guess it does come down to ideology for me. Punishing people does not make for a better society. Prevention is a much better use of our tax dollars.

I'd love to be able to be objective. Lately, I find myself surfing for more evidence to back up my beliefs -- see, yeah, Harper's evil man! I only talk politics with people I know who share my views. I accuse my old man for being so blinded by his beliefs that he can't even see the truth. And yet, this will be me before too long. Not good.